One last chance
by Yasmine1
Summary: During a fight with Naraku, a strange girl appears. Why does she smell of Kagome? Why does she want Naraku dead? And are those dog-ears? R&R Sess/Kag fic.
1. Default Chapter

One last Chance  
  
Author: Yasmine  
  
Email: ebonysky1@yahoo.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I am using this story as entertainment only. Please don't sue. I'm a poor college student with ten cents to buy Ramen.. that is all.  
  
Summary: While fighting another of Naraku's henchmen, a mysterious arrow appears a long with a girl that knows everything there is to know about the gang. Who is she? And how does she factor in with the disappearance of Naraku?  
  
Prologue  
  
The women lie on her deathbed. Her long gray hair lies on the pillow under her, as her big brown eyes stared motionless at the ceiling. The sheets felt heavy on her chest, but the cold wind that pushed against the house forced her to bear the load. She shuddered to think of what the outside world looked like now, she knew that the devastation that the demon had brought was a force that her time could not deal with. But she was too old to fight, her fighting days long gone. All she could do now was listen to the screams of the people outside and hope that her decision was the right one.  
  
"Momma, are you up?"  
  
The women rolled her eyes from the ceiling to look upon the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen. A woman of twenty looked down on her. Her white hair fell to her shoulders thick and straight, yet every once and a while you encountered a couple strands of black. She stood tall, her face made her look younger than she was, but the stress of the past events showed heavily in her eyes. The old women often could not look directly into her eyes for long; the sorrow of the lost of this woman's childhood always haunted her.  
  
"I am up Kumiko. I have been up for some time, awaiting your arrival. I am glad to see you have stayed out of sight."  
  
The old woman tried to make her body move to sit up, only to have her weight keep her down. She groaned in pain and tried again, and like always she could not lift herself.  
  
"Oh mother, why do you keep trying? The poison has already taken your energy, why do you not let me help you?" Kumiko frowned as she walked over to help her mother sit up.  
  
"Because I'm not a baby! I must learn how to move on my own, you shall not always be here. If only he had lived longer, I might have."  
  
"You might have died trying to get to him. Mother, that was a long time ago. You and he did not know the dangers of that encounter. Or how his coming would bring such disaster." Kumiko sat down beside her mother, lightly brushing her thick gray hair.  
  
"I can still see his golden eyes, imagine his body so close to mine. Had I not been so stupid as to think it was over, maybe I could have killed it." The tears fell from her tried eyes.  
  
"Mother, there was no way of you to know, as there was no way of him to know. The past is the past, and hopefully I can change that mistake." Kumiko smiled at her mother.  
  
"Yes, Kumiko you shall change the past. I have made sure of it. So my daughter, this is what you must do. Find Inuyasha. And stay by his side! Help when needed, but tell him nothing of who you are. Do you understand my child? Tell him nothing!"  
  
The old woman grabbed onto Kumiko's shirt, her small hands grasped the fabric with all their might. Kumiko leaned into the touch, her own hands wrapped around the frail woman. Her tears threatened to come out, but she refused to comply. Letting go slowly, she kissed the woman on her forehead, and moved from the bed. A smile on her face showed the little fangs behind her lips.  
  
"I will find Inuyasha, and stop Naraku. Then we will be safe. I promise."  
  
Kumiko turned from her mother; her hair twirled on the force. And briefly, just briefly, you could see her dog-ears as her hair moved. Kumiko did not see her mother smile, nor did she see her mother take her last breath, but in her heart she had a mission and she had promised her mother that she would die trying to save their world.  
  
And as she sat on the edge of the well, the same well that had brought about the destruction of her world and the same well that would take her to a past that her mother knew well, she looked at her house.  
  
'Find Inuyasha. Find Naraku, and kill them both.'  
  
She jumped into the well, a bright pink light surrounded her, and her world disappeared.  
  
That is the end of the prologue. Stay tuned for Chapter one. 


	2. Encounter

One last Chance  
  
Author: Yasmine  
  
Email: ebonysky1@yahoo.com  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and the gang. All I own is Kumiko and even this computer isn't mine.  
  
Summary: During a fight with another of Naraku's demons, a girl appears to help fight. Who is she? Why does she know everything about the gang? Is she friend or foe?  
  
Chapter one (encounter)  
  
The pink light from the well finally disappeared, leaving Kumiko kneeling at the bottom looking up. Her hazel eyes looked out of the well to see a darkened sky. The faint scent of blood filled the air, not much to affect her, but enough to know a battle was taking place. Sighing, she pulled a scarf out of her pocket and tied it around her ears; she climbed out of the well to look upon a battle across the field from her.  
  
Five people fought against the ambush of demons. There had to have been thousands, but these five people were easily beating them off. Kumiko looked at each person, trying to remember the names of the people her mother told her would be there.  
  
Flashback  
  
"Sango will be riding a two-tailed demon cat named Kirara, fire will line each paw and he will be flying. Sango is a demon exterminator and a damn good fighter. Miroku is a monk, though a perverted monk, his powers are second to Kikyo, whom I will get to later, he has on his hand a Kazaana or Wind Tunnel, watch out for that hand. Shippou is a Fox demon, but is still too young to do any real damage. He helps out when needed but for the most part stands out. Lastly there is Inuyasha; you can tell he is a hanyou from ears and white hair. He carries the Tetsusaiga. Kumiko be careful of him, he has a bad temper."  
  
Flash forward  
  
'Hmm that is all of them, I guess I will just sit back and wait. Maybe it will get out of hand and I will be able to help.'  
  
The battle raged on, demons falling from the sky in floods. Their bodies slithered between one another as they each tried to kill the offending opponents. But the opponents seemed to not go willingly into the night, for they fought with all they had. Killing over and over until it seemed like a dance.  
  
The thick smell of blood filled the air, it took all of Kumiko's will power to pretend it wasn't there. Her senses dulling a bit from the smell that she had not grown used to in this intensity. She turned her head in time to see a lone man floating above the mass destruction. A pelt of white hung over his shoulders as he looked down on the fight in amusement. His long black wavy hair fell over his shoulders, shining of its own accord. His bare chest peeked from out of the pelt that hugged him. She would have thought him beautiful if he had not destroyed her world.  
  
'It can't be. That is Naraku!'  
  
She quickly looked onto the small group, searching each face. None of them seemed to see this demon floating alone. She looked back up at him, her blood boiling with rage. This is the demon that destroyed her world, destroyed her chance at happiness. Killed her father and poisoned her mother. This bastard was the demon who would bring nothing but anguish and tears of blood. But he did not look demon, well not full demon. He looked like a Hanyou. That was probably what he was. But that didn't matter.  
  
She watched him; her eyes flashed red before she took control over herself. Once more she looked upon the group. No they still did not see him, but she would not let him get away. For a second she swore he looked her way, for a second she swore he smiled at her, which only made her angrier. Pulling the knife out of her pocket, she turned it over in her hands. Her hair slowly floated into the air, as her power began to float around her. A silver glow pulsated from her as she closed her eyes.  
  
' Sacred blade, drenched in the blood of my father and dipped in the tears of my mother. Hit my target. Kill Naraku!'  
  
"POISON BLADE!"  
  
All was still, or it seemed that way, as the knife launched itself from Kumiko's hands towards Naraku. Naraku only watched her in amusement, aiming she prayed that it hit him. The blade formed a force field of green light around it, destroying twenty demons in its way. She gasped when she saw Inuyasha get in the way, his body blocking the path of Naraku's heart. A slow smile formed on her face, she would get both of them in one shot. Her mother would be so proud.  
  
'No matter what happens to Inuyasha, Naraku will be hit. Even if he has his barrier around him, it will go through it!'  
  
"HIRAIKOTSU!"  
  
The boomerang flew at an incredible speed towards the blade, only to hit it and fall. Kumiko smiled at her stupidity, to think that her toy would stop the blade; even she could not stop it once fired. Suddenly a force collided with her midsection, sending her hard on the ground. She lifted her head just in time to see a purple arrow hitting her blade and knocking it to the ground.  
  
She watched as Inuyasha tried to attack Naraku, his moves were slow and labored. His sword was out as he tired to stab Naraku but was not getting through Naraku's barrier. Kirara stood on top of her, his snarling mouth only inches from her face. The flaming paws planted firmly on her shoulders, bringing heat to her head, but not burning her. Beside her stood Sango, a look of curiosity and yet anger. She could tell she was mad that Kumiko had tried to kill Inuyasha... at least she thinks that is why she was mad.  
  
She slowly tired to get to her feet, only to be pushed down harder against the ground. Her breath came slowly in her chest from the weight of the giant cat. But it didn't matter, she watched in silence the battle above her against Naraku and Inuyasha. Her eyes followed every move that Naraku made. Naraku moved with swiftness that she had never seen, for he was a lot faster in her time.  
  
'Why is Inuyasha playing with him? And where did that arrow come from? No wait. it couldn't be.'  
  
Kumiko turned her head slowly, Kirara's breath hissed in her ear, but she didn't care. The pressure this giant cat placed on her shoulders, screamed of relief. But even the idea of throwing this cat off mattered less to her as she took in the sight of the woman staring at her blankly.  
  
Large eyes of dark brown and flowing hair of black met her hazel eyes. Short with an outfit that matched hers had she been able to attend school. The air of power floated around her, flickering at her senses and lightly causing her to moan in reminiscence memories of her past. Closing her eyes slightly, she breathed in the scent of a woman she had only left twenty minutes ago.  
  
'Mother? Why didn't you tell me you would be here? Why hadn't I guessed that I would run into you while I was here? But what do I do? I can't look at her or even be near her, I will lose my composure.'  
  
" Hi my name is Kagome. This is Sango and her friend Kirara. I want to know exactly why you tried to attack Inuyasha? You maybe powerful, but that is awfully foolish going into a battle so unprepared. You didn't even seem to notice Kirara coming towards you. How can you fight so unaware of your surrounds?"  
  
Her face was bright and yet very serious. That look was her trademark for making Kumiko quiver in fear. Even as a girl she could still affect Kumiko so deeply. But despite her look she still looked at Kumiko as an equal even though she knew nothing of her. A trait her mother had wanted her to have as well. But she took after her father too much.  
  
"I was prepared to take out Naraku, if Inuyasha was hit it would have been an accident. I was not aiming for him. Only Naraku. As for Kirara and my surrounds, they did not matter to me, Naraku is my target and only he gets my attention."  
  
"Ok. Sango, let her up but hold her, we can talk to her when this is over." Kagome smiled at Kumiko, while looking at Sango out of the corner of her eye, just in case Sango made any protest. It was apparent from their relationship that Sango held Kagome in high esteem.  
  
"Ok Kagaome, Kirara? Up!" Sango paused briefly, obviously not as trusting as her friend, but did as she was asked.  
  
Kirara pulled from Kumiko's chest, relieving Kumiko of the numbness that was starting to spread to her whole body. She got up with help from Kagome, and pulled away from her as fast as she could. Their eyes searching the other for some unknown truth, but they didn't have long as a battle cry ran out along the area.  
  
All people turned to see Inuyasha yelling at the sky, his face twisted into a fit of rage. Naraku was gone, and the ground was littered with dead Demons. All in different shapes and sizes, but it was the air that got to Kumiko. Her senses heightened to sensitivity because of her stress, she was unable to stand it, and saw Inuyasha look down at her before she blacked out.  
  
As she fell to the ground her scarf slipped slightly, showing white dog-ears briefly before covering them again. Miroku looked at her in disbelief, she was a hanyou. Just like Inuyasha. He turned to Inuyasha only to see the boy sniffing the air around the strange girl.  
  
"What do you think Inuyasha? Do you smell Naraku on her?" His tone was serious, yet hopeful that Inuyasha did flip because of the reference to the dog trait.  
  
"No she smells kind of like Kagome. But there is another smell there I just can't place it. Well come on then, lets get her to Kaede, she will fix her up."  
  
Miroku placed the girl on his lap while he rode with Sango on Kirara. Inuyasha held Kagome and Shippou as they made their way back to Kaede's village. In the distance a white baboon stared through the trees. He watched as they carried the girl away towards the town.  
  
'She smells of a new world. She smells of that Miko named Kagome. I must watch her very closely, she may be an asset to my new plan.'  
  
The white baboon disappeared, leaving the wind to blow the leaves around the blood soaked ground.  
  
TBC 


	3. Angel sent from Heaven

One last chance  
  
Author: Yasmine1  
  
Email: ebonysky1@yahoo.com  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and gang. Kumiko is my own.  
  
Summary: During a fight with another of Naraku's demons, a girl appears to help fight. Who is she? Why does she know everything about the gang? Is she friend or foe?  
  
Chapter two (Angel sent from Heaven)  
  
The old woman watched through the barely opened curtain at the tossing and turning woman that lie on the ground of her hut. Her white hair lay matted to her head, swishing around as she turned from her recent lying position. The scarp she came in with stayed firm against her forehead. Shaking her head she closed the curtain and turned to the group of six anxious people that she has grown to love dearly.  
  
"Ye all have good reason to worry. Though I am sure that she is of no harm to you. Kagome, do ye sense any evil around that child?" Kaede had come to respect Kagome's sensation of evil entities since she has traveled to their time. Her miko powers having grown with each passing day in the Judo era.  
  
"Kaede I don't sense anything but confusion and the occasional fear and anger. She seems ok to me." She really believed that the young woman was of no harm, though in her heart she couldn't explain why.  
  
"You stupid wench! How can you say that? She could kill us at any time."  
  
" Sit!"  
  
Inuyasha's face connected with the ground, leaving a crater the size of his body in the dirt road that they stood on. Miroku looked down at Inuyasha before stepping over him and walking over to Kagome. He wasn't sure if he should tell everyone what he saw or if he should just tell Kagome and Kaede. He was sure that Kaede would have seen the ears, but for some reason she wasn't letting that fact go, he would need to talk to her in a private conversation.  
  
"Are you sure that she can be trusted? She was willing to hit Inuyasha to get to Naraku. Can we trust someone that is willing to put our lives at risk to get that demon?" Miroku stared at everyone, but even longer on Inuyasha, who just got up off the ground and Kagome.  
  
"I think Miroku has a good point. If we were to be in the position to get Naraku would we be able to take a shot that would kill anyone of us? I know that I for one could not take that shot. I want to kill Naraku as much as all of you, but I won't endanger any of you for that." Sango patted Kirara on his head, he purred in the palm of her hand.  
  
"Well I think she is trying to do something. I mean we can't really trust new people. She could have been aiming for me the whole time and just told you that she was aiming for Naraku. I bet she is apart of Naraku. one that doesn't smell like him." Inuyasha sneered at the idea of a Naraku that is in disguise.  
  
Shippou stood beside Kagome, his eyes taking in the state of seriousness. He hated it when they disagreed and looking at how they were standing on this subject they would be arguing for a while. So he walked into the hut that held the woman that the argument had been started over. His little feet carried him over to the sleeping girl.  
  
She looked so innocent laying here; you would never think this is the girl that they are all serious about. Her white hair and black streaks lay flat against her face, though parted over her neck, which showed a scar. It looked like a long jagged slice over where her jugular was. Had she been attacked? Was it by Naraku? Was that why she was trying to kill him? Or maybe Naraku had killed her parents and she got away with only a scar. Shippou stared at that scar, it's pinkness stood out against the pale whiteness of her skin.  
  
'Maybe she won't wake if I touch it. I wonder if it is hot? It seems to be calling to me.'  
  
Shippou couldn't help himself as his fingers made their way over the jagged edged scar. The scar wasn't warm as he had imagined, but smooth and cool. He grazed the scar with his fingernail, feeling the scar tissue give under the slight pressure he had placed on it. Suddenly he felt her body jerk under his touch. He didn't know what to do, should he walk away or should he keep touching the scar that had placed an illusion of her background in his mind?  
  
"You must really like it if you continue to touch it even though you know I'm awake."  
  
Shippou admired the scar once more before he turned his eyes towards the young woman. Her eyes regarded him as a friend so he wasn't sure if he could trust her. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Something he thought he would only get from his friends that was outside yelling at that moment.  
  
"Tell me your name and then tell me how you are to have found your way to these people. You can't have been born from them, because you are full youkai." Kumiko stared at the fox child for a bit, noticing his inner struggle to want to talk about his life but also not knowing if he should.  
  
"Well my name is Shippou and yes I'm a full fox youkai." Shippou had decided on telling only a little in case she was an enemy. But her eyes showed no sign of hate or evil, what normal bad guy's eyes showed.  
  
She gave off that kind of trust that you get when you are around your parents. The type of feeling that wraps you in security and protection. He had only got that feeling twice in his life, once with his parents and once with his dearest of friends; that warmth and security that he got when with Kagome. This girl made him feel the same way he felt when he was around Kagome and for that he trusted her and for that he told her his whole life story.  
  
And the best part about it was she listened. She listened to his stories and about his adventures. She listened to the way he felt when in battle and his insecurities. She listened to what he wants to do when all this is over, how he wants to one day go back with Kagome and stay with her. How he wants to be friends with Inuyasha and relate to him with his youkai side. Sure he knew that Inuyasha was only Hanyou, but that was ok. He told her about his fears and how sometimes he has nightmares of seeing all his friends die and not being able to help them.  
  
And through all of that she listened, her eyes glistening with tears when he couldn't hold his sobs inside any longer. And she held him, and comforted him and he liked that. He liked it so much that his exhausted body fell asleep and he enjoyed her soft arms around him, and the warmth her body provided for him.  
  
He didn't know if she was bad or if she would turn on them, but at that moment, right before his friends came in and snatched him away from her arms, he felt like she had been sent to him and only him and he was grateful. She had been for one moment his Angel and he was glad Heaven sent her to him.  
  
TBC 


	4. Darkness of my soul

_**One last chance**_

_**Author: Yasmine1**_

**_Email: I do not own Inuyasha and gang. Kumiko is my own. _**

_**Summary: During a fight with another of Naraku's demons, a girl appears to help fight. Who is she? Why does she know everything about the gang? Is she friend or foe? **_

_**Chapter three**_

_**(Darkness of my soul)**_

_**I knew when I first laid eyes on her that I knew her. From where I wasn't sure, but her being was familiar to me. I can't think of how I know her and that is what bugs me. She is a mystery, popping up out of nowhere as if magic and trying to kill what she deems her only enemy. As if Naraku is not an enemy to everyone that he had encountered and haven't killed. She almost took my best friend away from me in a moment of spontaneity to kill that which we have been trying to kill in so long. And her only answer: If Inuyasha was hit it would have been an accident, as if his life is one to forfeit. **_

**_I watched her sleep in Kaede's hut and ask myself will the others care if I rid her from our presence? Will they mind if in the morning she has disappeared? Then when I feel myself rising to enter that hut from my place in my circle of friends I know the darkness is upon me once more. I have hidden it well from them; I think the shard in my back placed foulness in me that was not there before. And it scares me that every time I come around Naraku that he can feel or see that foulness. That maybe he will try to capture me and turn me against Inuyasha, or Shippou, or Miroku or even my dear Kagome. Would they be able to kill me if that ever arise? Would they give me up to darkness allow the stench of evil to embrace me and never try to help my soul? Or would they die trying to free me while I tried to kill them? These thoughts run through my head when I look at her._**

_**Don't get me wrong she is beautiful. Her long hair reminds me of a demon my father once described to me. He had long hair that was white like the clouds on a bright morn. He had two lines on his face the top set of lines were purple and the bottom set were blue. He described that he had only seen him once and that even though he knew him to be a demon and the demon knew my father to be a human and an exterminator, he just kept walking without so much as a fight. My father always remembered that encounter and kept it in mind when he went to kill a demon. Everything that he said to me reminded me of her, the way she talks with a knowledge in her that far exceeds the age that she looks, the way she held Shippou and listened to things even I had not known of him, the way she looked at Kagome in acknowledgement and not as if she was below her.**_

_**And that is another thing; I saw the look that was exchanged between the two. As if there was a subconscious blending of understanding. Like they were talking but no words could be heard between the two. And I am ashamed to admit that it worried and angered me. I had hoped that only Kagome and I understood each other and since I had been with her so long that it would be me that understood her mind and not some stranger.**_

**_I woke up and stared in the direction of her hut, the flap is opened but I can't make out in the darkness if she is asleep or not. I awoke Kilala and told him to stay as I was just going on a short walk. I get up from my place beside Kagome and walk over to a nearby bush that I know will lead me to a small spring. As I walk I listen to all the sounds of the night, so that I not get ambushed. Upon reaching the spring I knelt down to splash the cool water in my face and take a small drink._**

"**_Sango I can tell that you are not happy with me. And I just want to tell you that I am sorry that I make you uncomfortable." _**

_**I whirl around to come face to face with the ban of my existence as of late. She stands tall, about 5-7 inches taller than me. Her hair is blowing on the breeze and she is looking at me with her Hazel eyes, very intently. The moonlight shines for just a second and I swear her eyes turn golden.**_

"_**What do you want? I just came out here to enjoy a nice drink and then go back to bed." I spoke to her like my father spoke to me when I was getting on his nerves and he wanted me to go away. Then I sober thinking he will never need me to go away because he is gone forever.**_

"_**What makes your face distort so horribly? Is it me or something else that troubles your mind?" She stood and started to walk over to me. Her body moved as if of some divine grace made it so. But I watched in fascination at how she glided beside me.**_

"_**It is but a bad memory." I finally said to her after my shock left me.**_

"_**Of Naraku I should imagine." A small sneer appeared on her face and for a moment I once again saw her eye color transform. Only not hazel to gold as last time but hazel to a red tint. And I stopped breathing; I had seen a transformation like that which I just saw. Inuyasha's eyes would change like that when he transformed. That led me to believe that she was a hanyou. **_

"**_It is but why should I share my anger for Naraku when you keep silent for your own anger." She bends down and placed her hands in the water, cupping some water she sipped and slashed the reminder on her face as I did. She then turned to me and smiled a small smile._**

"**_I have no anger for Naraku, only Hatred and next we meet one or both of our lives will end. That I can assure you of Sango." She stood and walked away her long white hair flowing behind her. I continued to stare after her even though I could no longer hear her footsteps. I turned to the spring and saw my reflection because the moonlight had reemerged. My eyes had grown older and tried since last I had looked at them. _**

**_Then I knew. As I sat there and looked at my eyes, at how tried and older I looked. I thought of all the blood that I had seen the lives I had ended and help end with the help of my companions. I realized why she seemed so familiar to me. Why when I looked at her she seemed so much older than her face showed, or why she spoke wisdom when she did speak. Why when she said that killing Inuyasha would have been an accident, why it came out so callus. _**

_**She reminded me of me. Her lack of caring reminded me of the foulness that I feel in my soul and the evil that I think comes from my very touch. I focused on my features once more before turning back to the way she walked through the dark bush. And I came to a realization while I sat there.**_

_**She reminds me of me because her darkness matches of the darkness of my soul.**_


	5. Love is Power

**_One last chance_**

_**Author: Yasmine1**_

_**Summary: During a fight with another of Naraku's demons, a girl appears to help fight. Who is she? Why does she know everything about the gang? Is she friend or foe? **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I own anything having to do with this world. I do however own Kumiko…. She is all mine. Ready for the next chapter? Here we go.**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_**(Love is Power)**_

**_Miroku had had a strange dream of a little girl. Her long hair blowing on the breeze she was maybe 4 or 5. She was laughing at two people that sat on the ground with her. One was a woman wearing a small white dress her long dark hair also blowing on a small breeze. The other was a man with long white hair pulled into a ribbon at the base of his neck. He couldn't see their faces. Nor could he hear the words that they spoke, but he could hear her._**

****

**_OOOOO_**

****

"**_Mummy, can I go play on the swings? I promise I will be good." Her mother seemed to say something and the young girl smiled and ran towards a metal object and began to swing on it. _**

"**_Mummy! Daddy! Come play with me please?" The father rose after placing a small kiss of the mother's hand and walked over to his daughter. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as he got behind her and began pushing her lightly. She looked up at him as her mother came beside her father. They shared a small kiss and hugged the little girl. Everything was peaceful, Miroku had wished this scene would stay this way. But it was not to be._**

_**The explosion was too quick. And the parents only had time to shield their daughter and themselves before the flash of light became fire and screams of agony. The after math of the explosion knocked the little girl and the mother to the ground, both having hit their heads on the metal object was now bleeding. And the father lay on top of them semi-conscious. People were running and yelling. Their mouths open with freight at whatever was behind them. Miroku could only focus on the little family but he did notice a tentacle grab a man that was running away. He just briefly wondered what could've grabbed him when his focus turned and he looked into the eyes of Naraku himself.**_

****

**_OOOO_**

****

_**Miroku sat up in a flash, a cold sweat littered his brow and his hair was damp and matted to his crown. He was confused and scared, unsure of where he was for a moment. After he was able to calm his breathing he came to the idea that the little girl was Kumiko. But who were her parents? And had she really come into contact with Naraku and lived? **_

**_So many questions in his mind and not enough answers. But he couldn't go to her, ask her to reveal her past to him. A stranger. It would be unwise to ask and also to provide that information. For their own sakes. He pulled his legs to himself and wondered if this was not just an illusion. Maybe she had placed this image of her younger self in his head to make him have sympathy for her. But why? That made no sense to fool him, but then she may know that he saw her ears and is aware that she is a Hanyou. That she has the dog ears that match Inuyasha's ears. Could that have been Inuyasha in the future? Was Kumiko his daughter? Was she showing him a future that will exist or could exist? One where if they do not kill Naraku now, he will some how exist even years from now. A threat to the way of life for millions of people, killing millions of people for his own sick pleasure. Maybe she was right to try to kill him at any cost. Maybe they shouldn't have stopped her but allowed her arrow to hit the mark that would have saved her future. _**

**_Miroku shook his head. He had no way of knowing that what he saw was real or fake unless he got up the courage to talk to the mysterious girl himself. Resolving that he would talk to her in the morning before they would pack to leave, he laid down again. The moon was shining down on him and his friends. Kagome held Shippou close to her, his mouth was wide open. Inuyasha was up against a tree, he had fallen asleep a bit after Kagome did. He looked around for Sango, she was not in the place that he had seen her sleeping. Getting into a panic, he sensed a presence coming from the woods. _**

_**Sango walked over to their sleeping circle, her steps where light and her breath was like little puffs on the air. She seemed to have something important on her mind. Miroku was torn between talking to her, or allowing her dark mood to encase her and drift her off to a bitter sleep. She decided for him.**_

****

"**_Miroku, why are you not asleep?" Her cool eyes slipped into his view. Her long hair smelled briefly of the berries her and Kagome often wash with. She seemed so small just then. As if she would break if he touched her. And though he couldn't quite place it, there was something off with the way she was looking at him. Something not right with the way she laid down on her own mat. She looked at him and he at her, no words need be said for him to know that she was tormented. He wondered if it was about Kohaku. If she was still upset about it. But deep down he knew it was not that. _**

"_**I awoke from a nightmare of sorts. I was about to go back to sleep but noticed you were not here. I was about to get up and find you when you came back. Is there something the matter Sango? You seem distant and disturbed." He tried to push the worry that he felt from in his soul through his eyes. He wanted her to see his worry and love for her.**_

"_**I am fine Miroku. Please do not worry about me. Now get some sleep we will be having a long day tomorrow." Her answer was so hasty that he knew he had hit a target. She turned her back to him and he could sense the tensing of her back muscles through her clothes and the blankets. **_

****

**_Oh Sango. What horrors flow through your head that you think are so bad that you must keep it from us? From me? He watched her. As he always did. His little Sango. The love of his life. Sure he asked any woman that would allow him to talk to have his children. Mostly because he knows they won't do it but mostly just to see the jealous look on her face. Her beautiful face that raised the sun in his heart and allowed him to live another day. How her smile both stopped his heart and allowed it to beat was a joy to him that he could not express to her yet. They had gone through so much, but his feelings for her would have to wait. Sleep took him and he dreamed of a world where Sango loved him as much as he loved her. A world where she had been the mother of his children and he still couldn't get enough of her. A world where Naraku was dead and his minions were no more. Where the only power he had came from her. The power of Love._**

****

**_OOOOO_**

****

_**The next morning as Kagome and Inuyasha argued of where to go, Miroku slipped into Kaede's hut to see the girl. She was up, running her hands through her long hair of white and black. She had her back turned to him but seemed at peace. He hated to disrupt her moment.**_

"_**Kumiko? Are you a hanyou?" He figured being straight forward would be the best approach.**_

"_**I am Miroku."**_

"_**Are you from the future?"**_

"_**I am Miroku."**_

"_**Did you meet Naraku? Did he harm you in anyway?"**_

"_**He did. He still does. And until I kill him he will do it again."**_

"_**Inuyasha, he is your father right?" This seemed to be the wrong question to ask. Her features transformed into a mixture of pain, anger, sadness and acceptance.**_

"**_I am here to right a wrong. I will not talk about my involvement with Inuyasha. I will not talk to you about my past either. Al I will say is that Naraku must die here, at any costs. And if I must kill to protect my time, if I must kill one of you to protect my time, you must know I will not hesitate. Miroku I mean you and your companions no harm, but Naraku must die." She looked at him and he could see in her eyes that his question had been answered. He could also take from her answer that Inuyasha does play a part in her past. What he isn't sure of is if it is one of love or one of hate. But none the less, Inuyasha was not Kumiko's father. That he was sure of. Nodding his head he told her they were about to leave and to get ready and left her to her silence._**

****

**_OOOOOO_**

_**The sun was high and already the warm air surrounded and heated the chilled expressions on the faces of his friends. They had not known what to do with Kumiko and such had to take her with them. Kaede gave them some medicines to take with them and they headed West towards a faint presence of a Shard. Miroku watched the group that he called friends, then looked to the mysterious girl that watched them just like he. **_

'_**What are your secrets?' And as soon as he thought it she turned to him and he saw the dream again play before his eyes. Of course, how could he be so blind? He knew who Kumiko's father was. They shared a moment of understanding and then he turned from her. He was actually anxious to see how this played out. And the Sun shined high and kissed the ground as they walked to their new adventure.**_

_**TBC**_


End file.
